Tyre (Arabic: صور‎ Ṣūr; Phoenician: 𐤑𐤓‬ Ṣūr; Syriac-Aramaic: ܣܘܪ, Hebrew: צוֹר‬ Tzór; Greek: Τύρος Týros; Latin: Tyrus; Armenian: ՏիրTir; French: Tyr), sometimes romanized as Sour, is a district capital in the South Governorate of Lebanon. There were approximately 117,000 inhabitants in 2003.[1] However, the government of Lebanon has released only rough estimates of population numbers since 1932, so an accurate statistical accounting is not possible.[2] Tyre juts out from the coast of the Mediterranean and is located about 80 km (50 mi) south of Beirut. The name of the city means "rock"[3] after the rocky formation on which the town was originally built. The adjective for Tyre is Tyrian, and the inhabitants are Tyrians.

History

Tyre originally consisted of two distinct urban centres: Tyre itself, which was on an island just off shore, and the associated settlement of Ushu on the adjacent mainland. Alexander the Great connected the island to the mainland by constructing a causeway during his siege of the city,[7] demolishing the old city to reuse its cut stone.[8]

The original island city had two harbours, one on the south side and the other on the north side of the island. It was the two harbours that enabled Tyre to gain the maritime prominence that it did; the harbour on the north side of the island was, in fact, one of the best harbours on the eastern end of the Mediterranean. The harbour on the south side has silted over, but the harbour on the north side (see Tyre harbor photo at top of page right) is still in use.[9]

In ancient times, the island-city of Tyre was heavily fortified and the mainland settlement, originally called Ushu (later called Palaetyrus, meaning "Old Tyre," by the ancient Greeks) was actually more like a line of suburbs than any one city and was used primarily as a source of water and timber for the main island city.[10]Josephus records that the two fought against each other on occasion,[11] but most of the time, they supported one another because they both benefited from the island city's wealth from maritime trade and the mainland area's source of timber, water and burial grounds.[citation needed]

Bronze and Iron Ages

Tyre was founded around 2750 BC according to Herodotus and was originally built as a walled city upon the mainland.[12] Tyre's name appears on monuments as early as 1300 BC. Philo of Byblos (in Eusebius) quotes the antiquarian authority Sanchuniathon as stating that it was first occupied by Hypsuranius. Sanchuniathon's work is said to be dedicated to "Abibalus king of Berytus"—possibly the Abibaal who was king of Tyre.[13]

Tyre became one of the more powerful cities in Phoenicia. One of its kings, the priest Ithobaal (887–856 BC), ruled Phoenicia as far north as Beirut, and part of Cyprus. Carthage was founded in 814 BC under Pygmalion of Tyre (820–774 BC).[citation needed] The collection of city-states constituting Phoenicia came to be characterized by outsiders and the Phoenicians as Sidonia or Tyria. Phoenicians and Canaanites alike were called Sidonians or Tyrians, as one Phoenician city came to prominence after another.

The city of Tyre was particularly known for the production of a rare and extraordinarily expensive sort of purpledye, produced from the murex shellfish, known as Tyrian purple. The colour was, in ancient cultures, reserved for the use of royalty or at least the nobility.[15]

Tyre was often attacked by Egypt and was besieged by Assyrian king Shalmaneser V, who was assisted by the Phoenicians of the mainland, for five years. From 586 until 573 BC, the city was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon until it agreed to pay a tribute.[17]

Persian period

A naval action during the siege of Tyre (332 BC). Drawing by André Castaigne, 1888–89.

Roman period

Tyre was allowed to keep much of its independence, as a "civitas foederata",[22] when the area became a Roman province in 64 BC.[23] Tyre continued to maintain much of its commercial importance until the Common Era. The Tyrians, or "people of Tyre" during the Roman period, extended their areas of hegemony over the adjoining regions, such as in northern Palestine, settling in cities such as Kedesh,[24]Mount Carmel[25] and north of Baca.[26]

The famous "Arch of Hadrian" and one of the best hippodromes in the region were constructed during the Roman empire.[27]

Byzantine period

In 395 Tyre became part of the Byzantine Empire. The city remained under Byzantine control until 638, when it was occupied by the Arabs.

Early Muslim period

In the Revolt of Tyre (996–998), the populace of the city rose against Fatimid rule, led by an ordinary sailor named 'Allaqa - but were brutally suppressed in May 998. In 1086 it fell into the hands of the Seljuks who lost it in 1089 to the Fatimids.

Crusader period

After the first failed siege in 1111, Tyre was captured during the aftermath of the First Crusade on July 7, 1124 and became one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was part of the royal domain, but there were also autonomous trading colonies there for the Italian merchant cities. The city was the see of a Roman Catholic archbishopric, whose archbishop was a suffragan of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; its archbishops often acceded to the Patriarchate. The most notable of the Latin archbishops was the historian William of Tyre.

After the loss of the First Crusader Kingdom in the wake of the 1187 Battle of Hattin and the reconquest of Acre by Richard I of England on July 12, 1191, the seat of the kingdom moved there, but coronations were held in Tyre. In the 13th century, Tyre was separated from the royal domain as the Lordship of Tyre.

The present city of Tyre covers a large part of the original island and has expanded onto and covers most of the causeway, which had increased greatly in width over the centuries because of extensive silt depositions on either side. The part of the original island not covered by the modern city of Tyre is mostly of an archaeological site showcasing remains of the city from ancient times.

After numerous attacks and reprisals involving the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including an assassination attempt on Israeli ambassador Argov, Israel invaded, as part of the so-called 1978 South Lebanon conflict, and Tyre was badly damaged. It was damaged again in the 1982 Lebanon War between Israel and the PLO. The city was used as a base by the PLO and was nearly destroyed by Israeli artillery.[28] After the 1982 war, the city was the site of an Israeli military post. In late 1982, and again in November 1983, buildings housing Israeli headquarters were destroyed by bombs, causing dozens of deaths in both cases and known in Israel as the First and Second Tyre Catastrophes. The 1983 explosion by a suicide truck happened only 10 days after similar attacks, the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings of US Marines and French paratroop barracks. Israel and the US blame Iran and Hezbollah for all explosions, but they have denied any involvement.

During Israel's invasion in the 2006 Lebanon War, several rocket-launching sites used by Hezbollah to attack Israel were located in rural areas around the city.[29] At least one village near the city was bombed by Israel as well as several sites within the city, causing civilian deaths and adding to the food shortage problem inside Tyre.[30]Shayetet 13 (Israeli naval commandos) also raided Hezbollah targets within the city.[31]

Cultural heritage

Roman Hippodrome in Tyre

Threats to Tyre's ancient cultural heritage include development pressures and the illegal antiquities trade.[34] A highway, planned for 2011, is expected to be built in areas that are deemed archaeologically sensitive. A small-scale geophysical survey indicated the presence of archaeological remains at proposed construction sites. The sites have not been investigated. Despite the relocation of a proposed traffic interchange, the lack of precise site boundaries confuses the issue of site preservation.[35]

Columns with tourists

The hostilities of the 2006 Lebanon War put the ancient structures of Tyre at risk. This prompted UNESCO's Director-General to launch a "Heritage Alert" for the site.[36] Following the cessation of hostilities in September 2006, a visit by conservation experts to Lebanon observed no direct damage to the ancient city of Tyre. However, bombardment had damaged frescoes in a Roman funerary cave at the Tyre Necropolis. Additional site degradation was also noted, including "the lack of maintenance, the decay of exposed structures due to lack of rainwater regulation and the decay of porous and soft stones".[35] Like many of the cities in the Levant and in Lebanon, the architecture since the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s has been of poor quality, which tend to threaten the cultural heritage in the built environment before the war.[citation needed]

Education

Demographics

The population of Tyre is a predominantly Shia Muslim with a small but noticeable Christian community. However, the city of Tyre is home for more than 60,000 Palestinian refugees who are mainly Sunni Muslim. The Amal Movement and Hezbollah are the most popular parties, representing all of the Shi'a seats in the city as of the 2009 elections.[citation needed] In 2010, it was estimated Christians accounted 10% of Tyre's population.[37]